Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday claimed that the state meets a whopping 336 of the 372 parameters considered to rank a state for ease of doing business.
While addressing the Horasis Asia Meeting in Kolkata, Mamata said, “Bengal is the future destination for investments and I would like to request business houses/investors from across the globe to participate in the Bengal Global Business Summit in January next year. Earlier, Bengal was ranked 30 in the ease of doing business rankings. Three years ago the rank improved to 15 and now, we are third in India.”
Acknowledging the fact that there are some issues over how Bengal is perceived as an investment destination, the Chief Minister said, “It is because of a misrule of 34 years of the Left Front government that we are facing some legacy issues. It will take time to improve our ratings in terms of investment.”
“We have taken lot of initiatives in creating a favourable atmosphere for doing business in Bengal. The state has progressed like never before. It is emerging as the industrial destination. Please come and invest and I promise that my government will provide all kinds of assistance to you,” she assured the investors.
Mamata also emphasized that the strategic location of Bengal makes it a gateway to southeast Asia and is crucial for one’s outreach to Thailand, Malaysia and other investment destinations.
“Bengal is a gateway to south-east Asia. From Bengal you can expand to the eight north-eastern states. You can reach Bhutan and Nepal too from here as they are just 30 minutes away from Bengal. There is easy access to Thailand, Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur too,” she said.
Chairman of Manipal Global Education and former Infosys Director TV Mohan Das Pai, who was also present at the event, stressed that Bengal must change its image to convince the investors.
He added that while the present government in the state is trying to change the image, there is a need to also change the perception of the investors.
The Horasis business summit is being attended by about 350 delegates from 65 countries, other than India.
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